In the following days, you find out the sad circumstances that arose due to the doppelganger's atrocities.

The next two days, you were busy leading the warriors of the estate and servants.

Burying the dead and helping the wounded...

A thorough search of each of the rooms of the estate in the hope of finding at least some evidence regarding the nightmarish events that had taken place...

Centaur Roth helped you, despite the fact that the locals' attitude towards him remained wary.

In the looks of the warriors and servants directed at you, you felt a mixture of fear and respect.

People were shocked by the terrible events that had taken place. A monster that can take the form of humans is something that inspires paranoid fear. After all, in each interlocutor one can suspect a secret threat. All this is perceived by many as some kind of unholy nightmare created by malicious mystical forces that exist beyond the understanding of the ordinary human psyche.

On the other hand, your recent actions make the people of the Hawk Hill estate feel respect for you. After all, you were able to understand the source of the threat in a critical situation and take effective measures to counter this threat. For you, this perception of your person is somewhat unusual. For many years, people perceived you as the youngest, useless and lazy son of the baron. As the third son, who will not have the right to inherit the main property and the title of Baron Radu. And, if we honestly analyze your behavior over many years, you often gave grounds for skepticism towards you on the part of other people with your stupid and depraved antics.

And now everything has changed...

You, Stefan, the third son of the baron, a weakling who does not even consider himself a hero...

You were able to independently perform actions that required enormous risk and which led to a successful result. All this could even be a reason for some arrogant joy on your part...

However, at the end of the second day after the fight with the monster, one of the warrior patrols reported extremely sad information to you.

The searches of the estate premises yielded some results.

You, together with these warriors, followed the winding corridors of the estate, descending lower and lower - into the underground premises.

You discovered with horror a corpse in one of the underground cells, which were usually used to imprison criminals who violated the laws of the kingdom or the privileges of the local feudal lord.

And this corpse did not belong to some dirty plebs criminal as you thought at first...

It was the corpse of your older brother Anton...

A disgusting sight of rotting flesh...

Many wounds and severe injuries...

"We are very sorry, honorable sir Stefan..." - one of the patrol warriors said quietly and fearfully.

Your gaze stunned examines the corpse...

The semi-darkness of the underground chamber is illuminated only by the weak glow of the torches...

However, you notice that these numerous wounds that led to the **** of your older brother were clearly not inflicted at the same time. Some wounds have almost healed...

This fact can only mean one thing - Anton was tortured for a long time before his ****...

But that's not all - his naked lifeless body contains traces of ****...

"The doppelganger tortured and **** Anton for many days?! And the same could happen to me?!" - you think and feel a shiver throughout your body.

At this moment, the thought that the monster killed by the centaur's arrow could have secret accomplices makes you feel anxious.

"Take the body out of here... Bury the body with all due honors..." - you pronounce the words of orders to the soldiers accompanying you.

Then you head towards the exit of the dungeon...

The next morning you decide to check out Anton's room.

Of course, the servants and warriors have already thoroughly searched every room in the estate...

But you feel uneasy and decide to look for any clues yourself.

Climbing the spiral staircase to one of the upper floors, you cast a fleeting glance out the window.

Rays of dawn...

Servants walking around the courtyard of the estate...

The sounds of cattle being led out to pasture...

You continue up the stairs.

Soon you come to the door leading to the room of Anton.

You go inside.

The signs of a search are clearly visible - many things are lying on the floor.

Books have been removed from the shelves of a luxurious patterned cabinet made of rare mahogany.

Blankets and pillows are piled in a corner of the room. This is probably explained by the search for some suspicious things under or on the bed.

Most of the furniture is grouped in another corner of the room. Armchair, chairs, stools...

A large chest bound with iron has been "gutted": all sorts of things that Anton brought back from his travels in the past years are scattered on the floor. Necklaces, rings, scrolls...

Your attention is drawn to one large table standing near the far wall of the room.

Probably, due to its size, this piece of furniture was not moved anywhere.

There are many things scattered on this table, which, obviously, were previously located inside the drawers that were elements of this table.

But the most noticeable item on the table is a large mirror...

A large mirror with a metal patterned frame.

Most likely, those who searched the room were afraid to move the mirror because of the risk of breaking it.

You come closer to the table.

Your fingers touch the scrolls lying on the table...

Symbols unknown to you...

Alas, you (unlike your brothers) have never been distinguished by a penchant for diligent study and the study of the mysterious writing of distant lands.

A small closed box...

Your fingers feel a hidden button in the far left corner of the bottom of the box.

Press.

Click...

You open this box and you see many gold coins inside.

You notice that there is some kind of weapon lying under the table. You bend down and pull out a steel bastard-sword. Nothing suspicious, it seems... It's just an ordinary blade...

In one of the drawers of the table you find a small hand mirror. The glass is broken... It's strange...

Then your gaze "slides" over the surface of a large mirror.

You run your hand over the glass to shake off the dust from the edge of the mirror.

Sudden pain!

You were careless and slightly cut yourself on the metal patterned frame of this large mirror.

A drop of blood touches the glass surface of the mirror...

At this moment, you feel a sudden attack of inexplicable weakness...

Your vision becomes slightly cloudy.

Worse, you begin to see strange things...

The darkness around the mirror thickens...

The cawing of crows?

Two crows, as if "woven" from darkness, sit on top of the large mirror...

A multitude of candles light on the sides of the table, emitting an unnatural glow...

"What kind of absurdity is this?! There weren't so many candles on the table, were there?! Where did these crows come from?!" - you think in panic.

The next second, your gaze is directed to the mirror...

Your reflection.

You see yourself.

The frightened expression of your own face...

However, the space of the room is not reflected in the mirror!

Instead, vague silhouettes of horned creatures emerge from the swirling fog, their narrow pupil-less eyes seem to emanate hatred and some kind of sadistic, monstrous pleasure.

The silhouettes approach you...

Or rather, your reflection.

One of them hugs your reflection by the shoulders...

Disgusting gray non-human flesh and fingers with sharp, curved claws...

A cacophony of sounds sounds in your head: malicious laughter and words in a language unknown to you.

You feel that it is difficult for you to even move!

You suddenly realize that every second is critical for your survival.

You must interrupt this unholy magical illusion at any cost...

However, it is not a fact that it is correct to call what is happening an illusion...